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I realize you may be saying this tongue-in-cheek, but that's such a hilariously compelling idea (speaking as an engineer pipe-dreaming about ideal jobs) that I'

I realize you may be saying this tongue-in-cheek, but that's such a hilariously compelling idea (speaking as an engineer pipe-dreaming about ideal jobs) that I'm making this rather unsubstantive comment to both encourage and say "give me a ping if you do"... (the mental dissonance for me is that while I'm no fan of software patents, and even broader patents as they stand now, attempting to motivate that change in parallel with capitalizing on the existing state of affairs seems pragmatic, if hypocritical; I've had to bang my head against this due to filings through work already)

ChuckMcM 8y ago
To be honest, the discussion started out as a hack so that we could use a 'company' to share health care costs rather than the exchanges. As the population in the Bay Area ages there are those who still like to talk about tech, draw on whiteboards, write code, and build stuff. While at the same time having accrued enough wealth such that actually working for someone isn't required. So we asked ourselves, "What are the good things about working at a company?" and the answer was smart people to exchange ideas with, facilities that you could leave "set up" while working on a project, and for some, an absence of interruptions by others. The "bad things" you don't benefit proportionally from your work effort, usually they want to own what you do and not let you share that, and if you take too many days "off" they ask you to leave. From that the 'League of Extraordinary Engineers' was born :-). Basically membership dues covers the cost of the facility, patent filing, and healthcare, and as the patent portfolio grows (the 'endowment' if you will) those costs go down.
- existencebox 8y ago
  This is where I respond "And my axe." The downsides you list resonate really strongly with me; compounded by the "all or nothing" nature of most employment in that I've noticed even negotiating a sabbatical for most of my line-engineer peers is a non-starter. (Story is different for those in management/very senior) God knows the pittance you get for filing at most bigCos doesn't align incentives/value, as well. My only concern for feasibility would be as you say, "having accrued enough wealth such that working isn't reqired", seeing as the current healthcare/social safety net situation becomes prohibitive even to those who might be upper-middle, begging the question of potential conflict of interest for those who don't have true "fuck you money," to put it crassly. (Clearly I'm speaking selfishly here)
  - ChuckMcM 8y ago
    Completely understand. And it is within that discussion which is the 'hard bit'.The spreadsheets get a bit thick too. Understand this has been percolating for over a year at this point. Feel free to contact me off list if you (or anyone else for that matter) is interested in the thinking that has been done so far on this concept.

ChuckMcM 8y ago

To be honest, the discussion started out as a hack so that we could use a 'company' to share health care costs rather than the exchanges. As the population in the Bay Area ages there are those who still like to talk about tech, draw on whiteboards, write code, and build stuff. While at the same time having accrued enough wealth such that actually working for someone isn't required. So we asked ourselves, "What are the good things about working at a company?" and the answer was smart people to exchange ideas with, facilities that you could leave "set up" while working on a project, and for some, an absence of interruptions by others. The "bad things" you don't benefit proportionally from your work effort, usually they want to own what you do and not let you share that, and if you take too many days "off" they ask you to leave. From that the 'League of Extraordinary Engineers' was born :-). Basically membership dues covers the cost of the facility, patent filing, and healthcare, and as the patent portfolio grows (the 'endowment' if you will) those costs go down.

existencebox 8y ago
This is where I respond "And my axe." The downsides you list resonate really strongly with me; compounded by the "all or nothing" nature of most employment in that I've noticed even negotiating a sabbatical for most of my line-engineer peers is a non-starter. (Story is different for those in management/very senior) God knows the pittance you get for filing at most bigCos doesn't align incentives/value, as well. My only concern for feasibility would be as you say, "having accrued enough wealth such that working isn't reqired", seeing as the current healthcare/social safety net situation becomes prohibitive even to those who might be upper-middle, begging the question of potential conflict of interest for those who don't have true "fuck you money," to put it crassly. (Clearly I'm speaking selfishly here)
- ChuckMcM 8y ago
  Completely understand. And it is within that discussion which is the 'hard bit'.The spreadsheets get a bit thick too. Understand this has been percolating for over a year at this point. Feel free to contact me off list if you (or anyone else for that matter) is interested in the thinking that has been done so far on this concept.